Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew

By Fiona Haynes

Updated 12/07/18

Vegetable stew
Carolyn Taylor Photography/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  • Total: 7 hrs 10 mins
  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 7 hrs
  • Yield: Serves 6
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
371 Calories
2g Fat
73g Carbs
21g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: Serves 6
Amount per serving
Calories 371
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 227mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 73g 26%
Dietary Fiber 18g 65%
Protein 21g
Calcium 218mg 17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

When time is tight but you don't want to rely on frozen dinners or take out, spend a few minutes early in the day chopping and preparing vegetables for a hearty and delicious slow cooker vegetable stew that will be waiting for you when you return home. Although a meatless stew, there is some lean protein in the form of white beans.

Chock full of vegetables, including carrots, butternut squash, and mushrooms, this is a hearty and nutritious stew that is the perfect comfort food for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. Serve with some crusty bread or whole grain rolls.

Ingredients

  • 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 2 ribs celery (chopped)
  • 2 large carrots (cut into thick slices)
  • 1 small butternut squash (peeled, deseeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks)
  • 2 medium leeks (white parts only, sliced)
  • 1 (8-ounce) pack sliced mushrooms
  • 1/2 pound small white potatoes, left whole
  • 1 (15-ounce) can lower-sodium white beans
  • 3/4 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (such as Muir Glen brand)
  • 1 bay leaf

Steps to Make It

  1. Layer garlic and vegetables in a 4- to ​5-quart slow cooker.

  2. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, and bay leaf.

  3. Heat on low for 5 to 7 hours.

Tips

If you can't find the tiny white potatoes, you can cut larger white potatoes into smaller pieces. You can also use small yellow or fingerling potatoes instead of white. Almost any type of white bean will work well in this recipe, from navy beans to great northern beans to cannellini beans. And to make some of the prep faster, consider purchasing the butternut squash already peeled and cubed.

If you need to put this stew together quickly in the morning, do all of the chopping the night before (except for potatoes if you are cutting them) and store the vegetables in a large zip-top bag or airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.

Recipe Variations

To give the stew another level of flavor, feel free to add some dried herbs at the beginning and/or fresh herbs at the end of cooking time. Dried thyme and tarragon and chopped fresh parsley would all work well. The fire-roasted tomatoes add a little bit of a smokey taste, but if you can't find them (or don't care for them), you can use plain crushed tomatoes in their place.

All of the vegetables in this recipe make for a rich and filling stew, but feel free to swap out or add other vegetables you may like, such as cauliflower, zucchini, peas, green beans, and bell peppers. You can even toss in some spinach close to when the stew is done.

Make this vegetable stew a special dish by adding some drop biscuits to the top. You can use biscuit mix or a homemade recipe, and then simply drop spoonfuls on the stew before the last 20 minutes of cooking time.

Other Vegetarian Stews

If you'd like a stew with a bit of added protein, try a crock pot vegetarian stew with seitan; the bit of soy sauce adds a nice umami flavor. Or a TVP and vegetable stew with carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and peas, as well as vegetarian Worcestershire sauce. For something a little different, make a pot of vegan sweet potato stew with kale and cracked freekeh, toasted young green wheat that offers a nice crunch.